How IPL is helping PhonePe create awareness around digital payments

The Indian Premier League (IPL) continues to hold mass appeal across the length and breadth of India even in time of crisis. It is one of those few events watched by the entire family together, making it the most captive and engaged audience that maps perfectly with the kind of consumers e-wallet brand PhonePe looks to connect with. 

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The company in the beginning of the year had marked Rs 800 crore for marketing in this calendar year for spending on a mix of ATL, BTL, TV, digital marketing and other advertising mediums.

With the postponement of the sporting league and the pandemic altering the media plans, the PhonePe spokesperson told BestMediaInfo.com how IPL will revive consumer sentiments and help the platform to build better brand recall and reach.

The company is a co-presenting partner of IPL 2020 this year and was associated with the league last year as well.

The spokesperson said, “We are extremely excited to be associated with IPL, which is India’s biggest sporting event. Our association in the past has proven to be fruitful, giving us a platform to create visibility and high brand recall for PhonePe. It has helped us create awareness around digital payments for different user segments.”

Amid the pandemic, sport comes as a relief. IPL has always been enjoyed by everyone across India, irrespective of age or location.

This year since mobility is limited and everyone is largely working from home, PhonePe expects audiences to watch the matches in far greater numbers.

“From supporting their favourite teams to entertaining social media banter, the IPL excitement will definitely help brands to grab more eyeballs,” the spokesperson said.

While the spokesperson believes it would be premature to conclude whether or not IPL will be able to boost adex, given the sheer number of variables involved, including a dynamic business environment, he said it is likely to play an important role in reviving consumer sentiment, as it is a major sporting event watched and enjoyed by all.

For the company, this IPL is a celebration of the spirit of India as businesses and individuals start getting back on their feet.

“Cricket and IPL is a much-needed respite for citizens cutting across India, and offers us the biggest platform to spread awareness of digital payments. PhonePe is at the forefront of bringing easy and secure payments as well as keeping one safe, more so in times of today,” the spokesperson added.

The company feels there is a massive potential in terms of the audience that has not yet been tapped in the mobile payment category and it’s a key focus for it to be at the vanguard of bringing safe, easy and instant digital payments and financial services to all Indians.

For the platform, digital payments were back to pre-lockdown levels by June and UPI transactions reached an all-time high in August.

It has witnessed a significant growth in recent months with new user acquisition numbers rising by 50%.

Furthermore, its July transaction volume, which stood at 620 million, surpassed pre-lockdown levels seen in February 2020.

“In a country where we are still continuing to see rapid increase in the penetration of 4G, and smartphones, and we continue to add millions of new customers every month to the PhonePe family, there is massive headroom for growth and we have just scratched the surface,” the spokesperson said.

And that is why the company feels marketing is crucial to educate the customer about the key use cases that PhonePe solves and the convenience it provides.  

In addition to PhonePe commercials on TV, it will definitely be on other media spanning social and digital.

He said, “Having a diversified media mix is essential and will play a pivotal role in building a strong brand recall and reach.”

PhonePe hit an all-time high of 660 million transactions in August with over 90 million active users resulting in an annualised TPV of over $200 billion and it continues to add millions of new customers every month. 70% transactions come from tier 2 and 3 cities and it is accepted at over 12 million outlets across 500 cities in India.

“We intend to grow our registered user base to 500 million from 230 million by 2022,” the spokesperson added.

Apart from this, being a digital payment platform, it works with multiple e-commerce providers to offer safe and secure digital payments but it has no plans of becoming one.

It has more than 200 partner brands that are able to showcase their offers and content and reach out to a large customer base and thus enabling its customers to seamlessly switch between PhonePe and their favourite food, grocery, shopping and travel apps from within the PhonePe app itself, without having to download multiple apps.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com